A new paradigm for vj-ing with Modul8

Category: Updates

Today is the day for the latest incarnation of Gener8. Exciting new features. Bugs defeated. What more can you possibly want.

NEW FEATURES 0.62

LFO generator integrated into the Launchpad module.

DMX input & output triggers from the Launchpad.

Novation Launchpad S Support.

Novation Launchpad Mini Support.

New media select mode behaviour in Novation Launchpad. Now changes media of ‘selected’ Clips, rather than ‘active’. Active Clips can now have their media changes quantised by using the Novation Launchpad’s media mode.

FIXED BUGS

Korg NanoKontrol2 issue fixed – (I hope, cannot test yet – please feedback if this re-occurs. The Nano2 is not yet supported, but should not cause problems as did with version 0.60-0.61.)

MIDI clock now produces timecode correctly in Loop mode.

Zero Division Error’ in Editor module corrected. Mostly – there may be more situations which cause this.

▪ Error on single press of scroll bar in Editor module fixed.
▪ Fixed keyword ranges in envelope for new keywords.
▪ Layer position keywords now display minus values correctly in the envelope window. (Range can be defined by in the preferences by setting up screen size.)

To get this update simply open Gener8 and make sure you have an internet connection available.
If you haven’t got a copy of Gener8 yet and would like to try it, register here and I will send you the link.

Works in nanoKontrol Scene 3, leaving you plenty of space to map you own controls.

Toggles between A/B layers (top push button 9)

Adjust layer transparency/alpha values (faders 1-5)

Adjust layer audio volume (knobs 1-5)\

Select active row (knob 9)

Trigger clip on active row (bottom buttons 1-5)

Trigger entire active rows (bottom button 9)

Dedicated crossfader slider (fader 9)

Show/Hide layers (top push buttons 1-5)

If you’re on the mailing list you will receive a download link, and if you’re not join up and I’ll send you the goods.

I’ll be posting more info about this update over the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled. So much to teach you all. I am in the process of building more tutorials and updating the manual at last too.

It’s basically a router for applying the Global LFO output (from my LFO Global module) to DMX channels. Much like the other LFO routers I have written for Modul8 keywords/controllers.

For those of you who don’t know the LFO module and a still using the BPM router, it has 2 Low Frequency Oscillators (one of which can feed back into the other), and 1 BPM controlled waveform. All oscillators can produce a number of different waveforms (sine / tri / ramp / cut / square / random), and output the result through the sharedDictionary to other modules such as this new ‘LFO to DMX’ one. There’s even a version of the Filter module which accepts Global LFO inputs, so you can keep your whole composition synced to the same oscillations!

Now, I’m not a big (or small) user of DMX gear, and I don’t actually have any to hand (so I’m not even sure why I spent the afternoon putting this thing together). Therefore, I haven’t actually tested it on any proper lighting rig – but that said, I’m pretty confident it’s gonna do the job, as all the maths tests out okay. Just seemed like it should exist, so I made it. It would be pretty cool to get some feedback though, so if you fancy having a play around, please do let me know how it goes!

Going back sometime last year, I had the fortune of being passed one of the new Faderfox controllers by Boris Edelstein (creator of Modul8). The controller is Boris’s own design and is being manufactured by Faderfox. For my part I was asked to come up with some modules for the device. Which I have done.

And here is a screenshot of the mod I have made.

For those of you on the ball you will know that with the release of M8 2.7 there is some simple integration of for the controller itself (including feedback for the LED’s etc).

What my module does is go much further, allowing full control of all your maps, some system set-ups for useful & complex procedures (media selection, syphon sources, colour swatches, sequencing), and allows you to easily produce an an infinite amount of patches, which can then be exported to XML.

Like this:

Mostly bug fixes and problem solving with this release, although some important issues have at last been tackled.

MIDI CLOCK Issues:

Right then, as some of you may have noticed, depending on your external clock source, when running from MIDI clock, the Launchpad clock tended to drift slightly. It is now as tight as a pair of speedos!

Any issues that affected the Clip Follow function under MIDI clock are now resolved with this update.

TIMECODE Update:

I have also tightened up the TIMECODE scripts and adjusted the TIMECODE protocol, making it easier to use for the developers community, and also improving performance.

Unfortunately this involves the upsetting of any other modules which use the previous TIMECODE protocols. so I am including an update of:

I have made some headway into improving the visual transition between Clips, you may have noticed that it is not always as smooth as it should be….

Here we have an issue which I thought I wouldn’t be sorted till the end, but I have made a major leap in understanding. Although I feel a real solution may be at the very limits of what is possible with modules.

To explain a little:-

When sending a keyword control to update the media, Modul8 has a short delay (depending on the codec type, file size, disk access time, etc. etc.) while it preloads that media before it can be displayed on the output. Previously I have ignored this, and the results have been quite ugly in many cases. With simple media changes this problem is unnoticeable, however when changing from Clips with a complex set of filters, scaling or other effects, Modul8 was updating the other control properties before the new media kicked in (usually about 2 frames), and therefore briefly applying those effects to the previous Clip.

So, I have introduced a user definable delay, so that the media can preload before the other controller values are applied.

To access and adjust this value, click on the ‘Preferences’ button in the Editor module. Here you will find a value called ‘Media preload’. The default value is 2 frames, which seems to behave fairly well. If in doubt, leave it alone, but if you are experiencing ‘Transition Glitches’, by all means have a play. I am considering introducing a clip specific delay – let me know what you think.

This, I feel is a solution in progress, and sometimes tight delays can glitch out Modul8 to the point where controllers in the main window do not correlate to the results on the output.

This is the kind of annoying issue that users should never have to deal with, but as it is so media specific I’m afraid the ball does land in the user’s court.

Other Improvements:

And it’s not all boring bug fixes and stuff, some new tools have been added too.

SET WARP POINT – Accurate setting of time warping point can now be applied at the click of a button. Note, warping is still in its infancy and I will be working to smooth it out in the future.

ZOOM TO FIT – Zoom the timeline editor to fit the In-Out points of your loop.

NUMERICAL ENVELOPE VALUES – Adjust envelope points with a numerical value. Just select the point (also works with time warp markers) and adjust its value. Certain controllers still go out of range of the timeline display, but the numerical value can overcome this. I will be addressing the vertical envelope range in future updates.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you are upgrading from version 0.51, the Editor module will bug out on first run. Do not be alarmed, just restart the modules and all will be happy again. This is a symptom of the transition to the new Timecode protocol.

Like this:

Okay everyone, so during the course of this beta development, I have discovered a few of the bugs in my mods were ones I’d copied from other modules, while I was getting to grips with coding in Python.

Okay, so yes, this is a bit annoying, but now that I have the solutions, I can pass them through to some of the other mods, and the world will be a much happier place. ; )

These updates mainly improve the way the module saves its data into your Modul8 project file. But there have been some other advances too, like global LFO inputs in the Filter module’s animation section, and also, most of these modules will now check for updates on start-up.

The next update to the Gener8 modules which I am currently busy working on will be another fairly major one!

As well as solving some of the bugs, and making many smaller changes to lots of functions, I have come up with a few things I’d like to share with you here.

New Time-code system
The first big change to the system is the inclusion of a new time-coding protocol.

Previously the modules have been running using the beatPosition system originated by Garagecube with their BPM module, but I wanted to introduce something that could distinguish musical bars and beats, and also deal with looping of bars.

The new time-code is generated by the Launchpad module, which frees it from the BPM module.

All of the previous functions available from the BPM module are now available from the Launchpad. And it can be synced up to an external MIDI clock (but sadly the frame resolution used by the modules means that it cannot generate its own MIDI clock).STATUS: Completed

Sound Router Module
The Sound Router module is finally compatible with Gener8 Clip changes.
I’ve used the latest version of the Sound Router, so all the functions are there, they just apply to the Clip, not the layer.STATUS: Completed

Envelope Gradients
In the last version I introduced editable envelopes for recording and controlling keyword changes, in the next update this feature is further improved with the ability to fade controller values between envelope points. Subtle fade outs will now be a very simple task!

STATUS: Completed

Beat Markers & Snapping in the Timeline
Oh yes, all those tricky little envelope points will now just stick themselves to the nearest beat marker, making tight editing a very fast process.

STATUS: 95% completed.

Timeline Zoom
At last we are no longer restricted to a small window to edit movie length files. Zoom in the timeline and scroll to the very frame you desire…

STATUS: Completed.

Time Bending Markers
This is a fun concept that I realised was possible some time ago, and now it is actually working. Imagine taking a video of a dancer, and re-synced their movements to a different rhythm. And with the power of Modul8 you will now be able to acheive effects like this in real time.

The markers allow you to stretch and reduce the speed of any section of your Clip, and you can use an unlimited amount of markers per Clip.STATUS: 80% Completed.

MIDI Trigger inputs for Clips
Each Clip-Slot in the Launchpad module now has an option for a MIDI trigger input (as well as the previously added trigger output).
Extremely useful for VJs who use applications such as Ableton Live, or external MIDI controllers to trigger video elements.
There’s also a mapping option for easy set-up. Simply put the Launchpad into mapping mode, then press the desired button on your controller and that’s that.

Each of the 5120 Clip-Slots can have it’s own MIDI trigger, and triggering this way overrides the Launchpad’s quantise function to keep things tight.STATUS: Completed.

REVISED Auto Loop function
The Auto Loop function in previous versions of the Editor module was a little over complicated, so I have revised and re-written the whole thing.

The new Auto-Loop is mostly totally automatic. It compresses or expands your media file to fit to the closest musical bar. It’s natural state is on, so as soon as a new media is selected, you know it will be ‘in time’.

There’s also an option for half and double time for quick speed-ups etc.

And, as before, Auto-Loop tracks any changes in the BPM (and now tracks changes to the time-signature too) and makes the appropriate adjustments.STATUS: 80% Completed.

Clip Library Tags
A little addition to the Clip Library module which allows you to Tag your Clip files, helping you to sort through your huge swathes of funky visuals.

STATUS: 90% Completed.

and, last but not least…

The Developers Module
A simple module that gives you all the code you need to make your own Gener8 ready modules.

If you wish to have your own custom modules which respond to Clip changes, and allow you to save all of their parameters into the Clip Library, then with this basic script you should be able to. Or, perhaps transplant the code into something you’ve already created…STATUS: 70% Completed.

When will it be ready?
Well, the release date for this lot is difficult to predict, but I’m going to dare to say that I’ll have it ready in one months time, which puts the release date to: April 1st 2012.

Like this:

An issue which created a conflict between the (at) Layer Sequencer v2.2 module and the Gener8 modules is now resolved.

If you have been using the Layer Sequencer in conjunction with Gener8, you will probably have experienced some freezing of the Clips after triggering them in the Launchpad module.

I advise anyone running Layer Sequencer v2.2 to update to the new version in the online modules library (open the Modul8 app, click the Modules menu, then select ‘online library’, version 2.3 will be available in the public section).

Like this:

I have taken the plunge and released version 1.4.0b for you all to have a look at.
For some time I have been telling everyone that it will be ready in a couple of weeks, but at long last I think I have something that is fairly ship shape for you all to test.

There are a whole host of new features to be found in this new release:

Like this:

Announcing a new feature which is now ready, and will be available with the next beta release (1.4), MIDI Triggering.
Each Clip-Slot now has a further tab in the inspector which allows the user to set up a MIDI trigger to be sent with the start of the Clip.
The trigger can be a note value, control change, program change, or many other type of MIDI signal.
The purpose for this new feature is to allow the user to easily synchronise external audio events to accompany your video imagery. For example, Ableton Live could be mapped to accept triggers from the Launchpad which will then sync perfectly to your video clips.
This new feature works with the Clip Follow feature, so it is even possible to set up some interesting MIDI sequences straight from the Launchpad.

Well, I know for a long time I’ve been promising a parametric eq section to this mod. I have decided on a stop gap version which uses the built in sound analysis features. While this restricts us to just 3 sound sources, it is better than just the one.

Although there is plenty of work to complete, I’d like to tell you what is in store for the next release.

We will have at least one, if not two more modules joining the family, some major redesign of the GUI, a lot of important new features, and not to mention some bug fixes (and as a little present for all my faithful beta testers out there, I shall of course be including some new bugs too).

Features Planned for v1.4

• Improved GUI in Launchpad – Including Media Previews on the Clip Slots.

• Envelopes in the Editor – Record and edit envelopes for any controller.

• Gener8 compatible Sound Router module, with parametric E.Q. filter. (although this is giving me a bit of a headache)

• Developers module – An empty layer contextual module that will work as a template for building your own modules that are compatible with Gener8 Clip changes.

….and last but not least the

• Timeline – Record, and edit your performances on a timeline.

• Bug fixes.

————
As you can probably guess, I’m quite excited about the new features, especially the new envelopes/timeline sections. The timeline was not in my original plan (at least not yet), but during a swift weekends development of the Envelopes section I have just realised that most of the code I’ve written will easily developed a Timeline module!

Of course, by the time I get ready for the next release, some of my boasts will no doubt not be ready, and the above screenshots do not resemble the finished products.

If you have any suggestions you’d like to put forward as to how you’d like to see it take shape, now is your chance to make an impact by leaving me your comments.